Abstract

The number of tigers have declined from 100,000 a century ago to only c3,200 today and are thus a focus for conservation and last-chance tourism. However tiger watching tourism is seen as another pressure on their survival and thus India has been the first country to announce plans to reduce/regulate tourism in its tiger reserves. This has re-opened an international discussion on whether tourism is a positive or negative force for the conservation of flagship species. Using India as a case study, this paper sets out the arguments for tiger tourism in order to invite further academic and industry comment.